Pucch repetition for improving reliability of pucch transmission

Abstract

A user equipment (UE) can improve the reliability of a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) transmission by transmitting repeated copies of the PUCCH according to a repetition pattern spanning one or more time slots. In intra-slot mode, more than one copy can be transmitted within each configured time slot, with or without frequency hopping. The number of copies and the time intervals between consecutive copies can be configured by the network. The repetition pattern may or may not be interrupted by time slot boundaries. In inter-slot mode, one copy is transmitted for each configured time slot. Different copies can be transmitted in different directions according to a spatial consistency pattern. The UE can use correspondingly different timing advances and / or transmission power levels to perform repeated transmission of the PUCCH to different Transmit Receive Points (TRPs).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of wireless communications, and more specifically, to a mechanism that enables user equipment to transmit multiple repetitions of the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) to improve the reliability of PUCCH transmission. Background Technology

[0002] To improve transmission reliability, wireless devices can repeat transmissions multiple times. The receiving device can accumulate these repeated transmissions (assuming it knows when a transmission occurs), thus increasing the likelihood of successfully decoding the transmitted payload. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In one set of embodiments, a method for operating a user equipment (UE) device may be performed as follows. The method may include transmitting multiple repetitions of the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) within one or more time slots. The one or more time slots to be used for said transmission may be configured by a base station.

[0004] In some implementations, two or more of these repetitions may occur in a first time slot of one or more time slots. Furthermore, a second time slot of one or more time slots may include two or more of the repetitions.

[0005] In some implementations, one or more time slots may include multiple time slots. In one or more of these implementations, the time between consecutive repetitions in the multiple repetitions is constant and there is no interruption at the time slot boundaries.

[0006] In some implementations, one or more time slots may include multiple time slots. In one or more of these implementations, the time between consecutive repetitions in the multiple repetitions is constant within each time slot, and no repetition in the multiple repetitions crosses a time slot boundary.

[0007] In some implementations, the transmission of multiple repeating patterns is determined by radio resource control (RRC) configuration messages received from network elements.

[0008] In some implementations, the RRC configuration message also indicates the time offset between consecutive repetitions in a plurality of repetitions.

[0009] In some implementations, the method may further include: receiving configuration information to enable frequency hopping, wherein multiple repetitions of the transmitted PUCCH are performed in response to the receipt.

[0010] In some implementations, the method may further include: before transmitting the plurality of repetitions, transmitting to the network (e.g., to a base station) an indication of whether the UE can ensure phase continuity when the transmission power changes between successive repetitions in the plurality of repetitions.

[0011] In some implementations, the method may further include: before transmitting the multiple repetitions, transmitting to the network an indication of whether the UE can ensure phase continuity when the transmission power changes within one of the multiple repetitions.

[0012] In some implementations, the method may further include: before transmitting the multiple repetitions, transmitting to the network an indication of whether the UE can ensure phase continuity when the duplex direction changes between successive repetitions in the multiple repetitions.

[0013] In some implementations, the method may further include receiving a Media Access Control (MAC) message from the network that dynamically configures the UE to perform multiple repetitions of the transmitted PUCCH. The MAC message may include the number of repetitions of the PUCCH to be transmitted by the UE.

[0014] In some implementations, the MAC message may also include the cell ID of the serving cell that the UE wants to transmit to it.

[0015] In some implementations, the MAC message may also include an identifier in which the UE intends to transmit a duplicate portion of the bandwidth.

[0016] In some implementations, the MAC message may also include the PUCCH resource ID of the PUCCH resource to be used by the UE for transmission duplicates.

[0017] In some implementations, MAC messages are used by the UE to update more than one PUCCH resource with the number of repetitions.

[0018] In some implementations, MAC messages are used by the UE to update all PUCCHs in multiple component carriers (CCs) with the number of repetitions.

[0019] In some implementations, MAC messages are used by the UE to update all PUCCHs in multiple bandwidth segments with the number of repetitions mentioned above.

[0020] In some implementations, the multiple repetitions of the transmitted PUCCH may include N repetitions of the transmitted PUCCH. The N repetitions of the PUCCH may be divided into M segments, where each of the M segments includes K corresponding repetitions from the N repetitions. Different segments among the M segments may be associated with different beams or precodes. For each segment, the K repetitions within that segment may be transmitted using the associated beam or precode.

[0021] In some implementations, M and K are configured using configuration information received from network elements (e.g., base stations such as gNB or eNB).

[0022] In some implementations, the method may further include transmitting preferred values ​​for M and K to the network (e.g., to a base station of the network) before N repetitions of the PUCCH transmission. The network can use the preferred values ​​to select values ​​for M and K, and transmits an indication of the selected values ​​to the UE before the N repetitions of the PUCCH transmission. The UE configures itself to use the selected values ​​when transmitting N repetitions.

[0023] In some implementations, the multiple repetitions of the transmitted PUCCH can be performed according to an inter-slot repetition pattern and a short PUCCH format.

[0024] In some implementations, when the PUCCH is in long format, the UE may be configured to perform the transmission according to an intra-slot repetition mode or an inter-slot repetition mode.

[0025] In some implementations, when the PUCCH is in long format, the UE may be configured to perform the transmission only based on the inter-slot repetition pattern.

[0026] In some implementations, when the PUCCH is in long format, the UE may be configured to perform the transmission according to either an inter-slot repetition mode or an intra-slot repetition mode if the number of symbols in the PUCCH is less than a threshold.

[0027] In some implementations, when the PUCCH format is short, the UE may be configured to perform the transmission according to an intra-slot repetition mode or an inter-slot repetition mode.

[0028] In some implementations, when the PUCCH format is short, the UE may be configured to perform the transmission only based on the intra-slot repetition pattern.

[0029] In some implementations, the method may further include: transmitting a second plurality of repetitions of a second PUCCH in one or more additional time slots after transmitting a (first) plurality of repetitions of a (first) PUCCH. The first plurality of repetitions of the first PUCCH may be transmitted using a first set of transmission parameters, and the second plurality of repetitions of the second PUCCH may be transmitted using a second set of transmission parameters.

[0030] In some implementations, the method may further include receiving configuration information indicating a first set of transmission parameters and a second set of transmission parameters.

[0031] In some implementations, the first set of transmission parameters may include a first timing lead and / or a first transmission power, and the second set of transmission parameters may include a second timing lead and / or a second transmission power. Attached Figure Description

[0032] A better understanding of the subject matter can be obtained by considering the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0033] Figures 1 to 2 Examples of wireless communication systems according to some implementation schemes are shown.

[0034] Figure 3 Examples of base stations communicating with user equipment devices according to some implementation schemes are shown.

[0035] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a user equipment device according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0036] Figure 5 An exemplary block diagram of a base station according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0037] Figure 6 An exemplary user equipment 600 according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0038] Figure 7 An example of a base station 700 according to some implementation schemes is shown. The base station 700 can be used with... Figure 6 User equipment 600 communication.

[0039] Figure 8 Several features associated with transmissions of the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) according to some implementation schemes are shown.

[0040] Figure 9 Two intra-slot modes and one inter-slot mode of PUCCH repetition according to some implementation schemes are shown.

[0041] Figure 10 The repeat offset between consecutive repetitions of PUCCH is shown according to some implementation schemes.

[0042] Figure 11 Frequency hopping in a time-slot mode of PUCCH repetition according to some implementations is shown.

[0043] Figure 12 The structure of a media access control element for dynamic configuration of multiple PUCCH repetitions is shown according to some implementation schemes.

[0044] Figure 13 An example of spatial consistency of PUCCH repeating transmissions according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0045] Figure 14 A method for operating user equipment to transmit PUCCH repetitions according to some embodiments is shown.

[0046] Figure 15 A method for operating a base station to receive PUCCH repetitions, according to some implementation schemes, is shown.

[0047] While the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternatives, specific embodiments thereof are illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and their detailed description are not intended to limit this document to the specific forms disclosed, but rather are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the substance and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. Detailed Implementation

[0048] acronym

[0049] The following acronyms are used in this disclosure:

[0050] 3GPP: Third Generation Partnership Project

[0051] 3GPP2: Third Generation Partnership Project 2

[0052] 5G NR: Fifth Generation New Radio

[0053] BW: Bandwidth

[0054] BWP: Bandwidth section

[0055] CQI: Channel Quality Indicator

[0056] DCI: Downlink Control Information

[0057] DL: Downlink

[0058] eNB (or eNodeB): Evolved Node B, i.e., a 3GPP LTE base station.

[0059] gNB (or gNodeB): Next-generation node B, i.e., 5G NR base station.

[0060] GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications

[0061] HARQ: Hybrid ARQ

[0062] LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0063] LTE-A: Advanced LTE

[0064] MAC: Media Access Control

[0065] MAC-CE: MAC control element

[0066] NR: New Radio

[0067] NR-DC: NR Dual Connection

[0068] NW: Network

[0069] RAT: Radio Access Technology

[0070] RLC: Radio Link Control

[0071] RLF: Radio link failure

[0072] RLM: Radio Link Monitoring

[0073] RNTI: Temporary Identifier for Radio Networks

[0074] RRC: Radio Resource Control

[0075] RRM: Radio Resource Management

[0076] RS: Reference signal

[0077] SR: Scheduling Request

[0078] SSB: Synchronization Signal Block

[0079] UE: User Equipment

[0080] UL: Uplink

[0081] UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunication System

[0082] the term

[0083] The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

[0084] Memory media—any device of any type of memory device or storage device. The term “memory media” is intended to include mounting media such as CD-ROMs, floppy disks, or magnetic tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media, such as hard disk drives or optical storage devices; registers, or other similar types of memory elements, etc. Memory media may also include other types of memory, or combinations thereof. Furthermore, memory media may reside in a first computer system executing a program, or may reside in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term “memory media” may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations on different computer systems connected via a network, for example. Memory media may store program instructions (e.g., representing a computer program) that can be executed by one or more processors.

[0085] Carrier medium—the memory medium as described above, and physical transmission medium, such as buses, networks, and / or other physical transmission media for transmitting signals (such as electrical signals, electromagnetic signals, or digital signals).

[0086] Programmable hardware elements—including a variety of hardware devices comprising multiple programmable functional blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), FPOAs (Field-Programmable Object Arrays), and CPLDs (Complex PLDs). Programmable functional blocks can vary from fine-grained (combinatorial logic units or lookup tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "configurable logic units."

[0087] Computer system—any computing or processing system of all types, including personal computer systems (PCs), mainframe computer systems, workstations, network appliances, internet-connected appliances, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal communication devices, smartphones, television systems, grid computing systems, or other devices or combinations thereof. In general, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0088] User equipment (UE) (or “UE device”) — any of a variety of computer system devices that are mobile or portable and perform wireless communications. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smartphones (e.g., iPhone). TMBased on Android TM Telephones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS) TM PlayStation Portable TM Gameboy Advance TM iPhone TM Wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart glasses), laptops, PDAs, portable networking devices, music players, data storage devices, or other handheld devices. Generally, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined as any electronic, computing, and / or telecommunications equipment (or combination of equipment) that is easily transportable by the user and capable of wireless communication.

[0089] Base station—The term “base station” has the full range of its common meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed in a fixed location and is used for communication as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0090] Processing element—refers to any of a variety of elements or combinations of elements. Processing elements include, for example, circuitry such as ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits), portions or circuitry of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, individual processors, programmable hardware devices (such as Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs)), and / or a large portion of a system comprising multiple processors.

[0091] Automatic—means an action or operation performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or device (e.g., circuits, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.) without requiring direct user input to specify or perform that action or operation. Therefore, the term "automatic" contrasts with an action performed or specified manually by a user, where the user provides input to directly perform that action. An automatic process can be initiated by user-provided input, but the subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user; that is, they are not performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out a form by selecting each field and providing input to specify information (e.g., by typing information, selecting a checkbox, radio selection, etc.) is considered manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user's actions. The form can be automatically filled out by a computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) which analyzes the fields of the form and fills it out without any user input specifying answers for the fields. As indicated above, the user can invoke the automatic filling of the form but does not participate in the actual filling of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify answers for the fields, but they are completed automatically). This manual provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions taken by the user.

[0092] Figures 1 to 3 -Communication System

[0093] Figure 1 and Figure 2 An exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system is shown. Note that... Figure 1 and Figure 2 The system described is merely an example of some possible systems, and various implementation schemes can be implemented in any of the various ways as needed.

[0094] Figure 1 The wireless communication system includes a base station 102A, which communicates with one or more user equipment (UE) devices 106A, 106B, etc., up to 106N, via a transmission medium. Each of these user equipment devices may be referred to herein as a "user equipment" (UE). Figure 2 In the wireless communication system, in addition to base station 102A, base station 102B also (e.g., simultaneously or concurrently) communicates with UE devices 106A, 106B, etc., 106N through a transmission medium.

[0095] Base stations 102A and 102B can be transceiver base stations (BTS) or cell sites, and may include hardware to enable wireless communication with user equipment 106A to 106N. Each base station 102 may also be configured to communicate with a core network 100 (e.g., base station 102A may be coupled to core network 100A, and base station 102B may be coupled to core network 100B), which may be the core network of a cellular service provider. Each core network 100 may also be coupled to one or more external networks (such as external network 108), which may include the Internet, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), or any other network. Therefore, base station 102A may facilitate communication between user equipment and / or between user equipment and network 100A; Figure 2 In the system, base station 102B can facilitate communication between user equipment and / or between user equipment and network 100B.

[0096] Base stations 102A and 102B can be configured to communicate with user equipment using a transmission medium of any of the various radio access technologies (RATs), also known as wireless communication technologies or telecommunications standards, such as GSM, UMTS (WCDMA), LTE, LTE-A Advanced, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), Wi-Fi, WiMAX, etc.

[0097] For example, base station 102A and core network 100A may operate according to a first cellular communication standard (e.g., LTE), while base station 102B and core network 100B may operate according to a second (e.g., different) cellular communication standard (e.g., GSM, UMTS, and / or one or more CDMA2000 cellular communication standards). The two networks may be controlled by the same network operator (e.g., a cellular service provider or "operator") or different network operators. Furthermore, the two networks may operate independently of each other (e.g., if they operate according to different cellular communication standards), or they may operate in a manner that is either partially coupled or tightly coupled.

[0098] It should also be noted that, although in Figure 2 The network configuration shown illustrates the use of two different networks to support two different cellular communication technologies, but other network configurations implementing multiple cellular communication technologies are also possible. As an example, base stations 102A and 102B can operate according to different cellular communication standards but are coupled to the same core network. As another example, a multi-mode base station capable of simultaneously supporting different cellular communication technologies (e.g., LTE and CDMA 1xRTT, GSM and UMTS, or any other combination of cellular communication technologies) can be coupled to a core network that also supports different cellular communication technologies. Any other various network deployment scenarios are also possible.

[0099] As an alternative possibility, base stations 102A and 102B may also operate using the same wireless communication technology (or a set of overlapping wireless communication technologies). For example, base station 102A and core network 100A may be operated by a single cellular service provider independently of base station 102B and core network 100B, and the base stations and core network may be operated by different (e.g., competing) cellular service providers. Therefore, in this scenario, despite using similar and potentially compatible cellular communication technologies, UE devices 106A to 106N may communicate independently with base stations 102A to 102B, possibly by utilizing separate user identities to communicate with different operator networks.

[0100] UE 106 is capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, UE 106 can be configured to communicate using any one or two of the following 3GPP cellular communication standards: such as LTE and / or 3GPP2 cellular communication standards: such as those in the CDMA2000 series. As another example, UE 106 can be configured to communicate using two or more different 3GPP cellular communication standards: such as GSM, UMTS, LTE, or LTE-A. Therefore, as described above, UE 106 can be configured to communicate with base station 102A (and / or other base stations) according to a first cellular communication standard (e.g., LTE) and can also be configured to communicate with base station 102B (and / or other base stations) according to a second cellular communication standard (e.g., one or more CDMA2000 cellular communication standards: UMTS, GSM, etc.).

[0101] Base stations 102A and 102B, operating under the same or different cellular communication standards, and other base stations may therefore be provided as one or more cell networks that can provide continuous or near-continuous overlapping services to UEs 106A-106N and similar devices over a wide geographical area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0102] UE 106 can also be configured, or alternatively configured, to communicate using WLAN, Bluetooth, one or more Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one and / or more mobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H). Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0103] Figure 3 User equipment 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A to 106N) communicating with base station 102 (e.g., one of base stations 102A or 102B). UE 106 can be a device with wireless network connectivity, such as a mobile phone, handheld device, computer or tablet, wearable device, or substantially any type of wireless device.

[0104] The UE may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in memory. The UE can perform any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or additionally, the UE may include programmable hardware elements such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) configured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein, or any portion thereof.

[0105] UE 106 can be configured to communicate using any of a number of wireless communication protocols. For example, UE 106 can be configured to communicate using two or more of GSM, UMTS (W-DCMA, TD-SCDMA, etc.), CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD, etc.), LTE, LTE-A, WLAN, or GNSS. Other combinations of wireless communication standards are also possible.

[0106] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols. Within UE 106, one or more portions of the receive and / or transmit chain may be shared among multiple wireless communication standards; for example, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using a single shared radio component using one or both of GSM or LTE. The shared radio component may include a single antenna, or may include multiple antennas for performing wireless communication (e.g., for MIMO or beamforming). MIMO is an acronym for Multiple-Input Multiple-Output.

[0107] Figure 4 -Exemplary block diagram of UE

[0108] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of UE 106 is shown. As shown, UE 106 may include a System-on-Chip (SOC) 300, which may include portions for various purposes. For example, as shown, SOC 300 may include a processor 302 capable of executing program instructions for UE 106 and display circuitry 304 capable of performing graphics processing and providing display signals to display 345. Processor 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340 and / or other circuitry or devices (such as display circuitry 304, radio components 330, connector I / F 320, and / or display 345), which may be configured to receive addresses from processor 302 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310). MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, MMU 340 may be included as part of processor 302.

[0109] As shown in the figure, the SOC 300 can be coupled to various other circuits of the UE 106. For example, the UE 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including flash memory 310), connector interface 320 (e.g., for coupling to computer systems, docking stations, charging stations, etc.), display 345, and radio components 330.

[0110] Radio component 330 may include one or more RF chains. Each RF chain may include a transmit chain, a receive chain, or both. For example, radio component 330 may include two RF chains to support dual connectivity with two base stations (or two cells). Radio component may be configured to support wireless communication according to one or more of one or more wireless communication standards, such as GSM, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, WCDMA, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, etc.

[0111] Radio component 330 is coupled to antenna subsystem 335, which includes one or more antennas. For example, antenna subsystem 335 may include multiple antennas to support applications such as dual-connectivity, MIMO, or beamforming. Antenna subsystem 335 transmits and receives radio signals to / from one or more base stations or devices via a radio propagation medium (typically the atmosphere).

[0112] In some implementations, processor 302 may include a baseband processor to generate uplink baseband signals and / or process downlink baseband signals. Processor 302 may be configured to perform data processing according to one or more wireless communication standards, such as GSM, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, WCDMA, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, etc.

[0113] UE 106 may also include one or more user interface elements. User interface elements may include various components such as display 345 (which may be a touch screen display), keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of the touch screen display), mouse, microphone and / or speaker, one or more cameras, one or more sensors, one or more buttons, sliders and / or dial pads, and / or any of various other components capable of providing information to the user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0114] As shown in the figure, UE 106 may also include one or more User Identity Modules (SIMs) 360. Each of the one or more SIMs may be implemented as an embedded SIM (eSIM), in which case the SIM may be implemented in device hardware and / or software. For example, in some embodiments, UE 106 may include an embedded UICC (eUICC), for example, a device built into UE 106 and not removable. The eUICC may be programmable, such that one or more eSIMs may be implemented on the eUICC. In other embodiments, the eSIM may be installed in the UE 106 software, for example, as program instructions stored in UE 106 and executed on a storage medium (such as memory 306 or Flash 310) that executes on a processor (such as processor 302). As an example, SIM 360 may be an application executing on a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC). Alternatively or otherwise, one or more of SIMs 360 may be implemented as removable SIM cards.

[0115] The processor 302 of the UE device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). In other embodiments, the processor 302 may be configured as or include: a programmable hardware element such as a FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array); or an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit); or a combination thereof.

[0116] Figure 5 - Example of a base station

[0117] Figure 5 A block diagram of base station 102 is shown. Note that... Figure 5 The base station shown is merely one example of a possible base station. As illustrated, base station 102 may include a processor 404 capable of executing program instructions specific to base station 102. Processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 or other circuitry or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from processor 404 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450).

[0118] Base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Network port 470 may be configured to be coupled to a telephone network and provide services (as described above) to multiple devices such as UE device 106. Figure 1 and Figure 2 Access to the telephone network as described in the document.

[0119] Network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also be configured, or alternatively configured, to be coupled to a cellular network, such as the core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as UE device 106. In some cases, network port 470 may be coupled to a telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide the telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0120] Base station 102 may include radio components 430 having one or more RF chains. Each RF chain may include a transmit chain, a receive chain, or both. (For example, base station 102 may include at least one RF chain for each sector or cell). Radio 430 is coupled to an antenna subsystem 434 including one or more antennas. For example, multiple antennas are required to support applications such as MIMO or beamforming. Antenna subsystem 434 transmits and receives radio signals to and from the UE via a radio propagation medium (typically the atmosphere).

[0121] In some implementations, processor 404 may include a baseband processor to generate downlink baseband signals and / or process uplink baseband signals. Baseband processor 430 may be configured to operate according to one or more wireless telecommunications standards, including but not limited to GSM, LTE, WCDMA, CDMA2000, etc.

[0122] The processor 404 of base station 102 may be configured to implement some or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). In some embodiments, processor 404 may include: programmable hardware elements such as FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array); or ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit); or combinations thereof.

[0123] In some implementations, the wireless user equipment (UE) device 600 can be as follows: Figure 6 The configuration is shown. UE device 600 may include: a wireless electronic system 605 for performing wireless communication; and a processing element 610 operatively coupled to the wireless electronic system. (UE device 600 may also include any subset of the UE features described above, for example, in combination with...) Figures 1 to 4 ).

[0124] The wireless electronic system 605 may include one or more RF chains, such as those described above. Each RF chain may be configured to receive signals from a radio propagation channel and / or transmit these signals onto the radio propagation channel. Thus, each RF chain may include a transmit chain and / or a receive chain. The wireless electronic system 605 may be coupled to one or more antennas (or one or more antenna arrays) to facilitate signal transmission and reception. Each RF chain (or some RF chains) may be tuned to a desired frequency, thereby allowing the RF chains to receive or transmit at different frequencies at different times.

[0125] Processing element 610 may be coupled to the wireless electronic system and may be configured as described above. (For example, the processing element may be implemented by processor 302). The processing element may be configured to control the state of each RF chain in the wireless electronic system.

[0126] In some implementations, the processing element may include one or more baseband processors to (a) generate baseband signals to be transmitted by the wireless electronic system and / or (b) process baseband signals provided by the wireless electronic system.

[0127] In dual-connectivity operation mode, the processing element can instruct a first RF chain to communicate with a first base station using a first radio access technology, and instruct a second RF chain to communicate with a second base station using a second radio access technology. For example, the first RF chain can communicate with an LTE eNB, and the second RF chain can communicate with a 5G New Radio (NR) gNB. A link with an LTE eNB can be referred to as an LTE branch. A link with a gNB can be referred to as an NR branch. In some embodiments, the processing element may include a first sub-circuit implementing baseband processing relative to the LTE branch and a second sub-circuit implementing baseband processing relative to the NR branch.

[0128] The processing element 610 may be further configured as described in various sections below.

[0129] In some implementations, the wireless base station 700 of the wireless network (not shown) can be as follows: Figure 7 The configuration is shown. A wireless base station may include: a wireless subsystem 705 for performing wireless communication via a radio propagation channel; and a processing element 710 operatively coupled to the wireless subsystem. (The wireless base station may also include any subset of the base station features described above, for example, those combined with the above description.) Figure 5 The aforementioned features).

[0130] The wireless electronic system 710 may include one or more RF chains. Each RF chain can be tuned to a desired frequency, thereby allowing the RF chain to receive or transmit at different frequencies at different times. The wireless electronic system 710 may be coupled to an antenna subsystem, which includes one or more antennas, such as an antenna array or multiple antenna arrays. The wireless electronic system may employ the antenna subsystem to transmit radio signals to and from a radio wave propagation medium.

[0131] Processing element 710 may be implemented as described in the various descriptions above. For example, in one embodiment, processing element 710 may be implemented as processor 404. In some embodiments, processing element may include one or more baseband processors to: (a) generate baseband signals to be transmitted by the wireless electronic system, and / or (b) process baseband signals provided by the wireless electronic system.

[0132] The processing element 710 can be configured to perform any of the base station method implementations described herein.

[0133] Enhance the reliability of PUCCH transmission

[0134] In some implementation schemes, such as Figure 8 As shown, a system design for the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) may include one or more of the following features. First, the system design may allow for a variety of different PUCCH formats, such as those adapted to different types of UEs or different application scenarios. Second, it may allow time-slot aggregation for PUCCH transmission. Third, the beam used by the UE to transmit the PUCCH can be changed via dynamic signaling to the UE (e.g., via a Media Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE)). Fourth, the MAC-CE can be used to activate a specific beam for a specific PUCCH resource.

[0135] Each PUCCH format can have corresponding constraints on the number of symbols to be transmitted within it and on the number of payload bits to be carried in the PUCCH. Formats can be categorized into two types based on duration: short and long. For example, in... Figure 8 In the format, format 0 and format 2 are short formats because they are transmitted on one or two symbols; and the remaining formats are long formats because they are transmitted on four or more symbols.

[0136] When PUCCH slot aggregation is used, PUCCH can be repeatedly transmitted across multiple slots, with each slot including only one repetition of the PUCCH. (In an alternative implementation, each slot may include more than one repetition of the PUCCH.) The parameter nrofSlots can be configured via signaling from the network, such as via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. In one implementation, nrofSlots can be configured as part of PUCCH-FormatConfig in PUCCH-Config.

[0137] In some implementations, the UE can apply a beam to each repetition of the PUCCH. Different beams can be applied to different repetitions. The network can, for example, change the PUCCH beam used by the UE by sending a MAC CE to the UE. Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling (to the UE) can be used to configure a list of PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo in the PUCCH-Config, such as a list of beams or precoders to be used for PUCCH transmission. (The UE includes an antenna array. Uplink signals can be transmitted with different weights through different antennas in the array to achieve beamforming or precoded transmission. The vector of weights applied to the signals determines the beam direction.) The UE stores the list. A MAC CE can be used to select or activate one beam in the list. In alternative implementations, a MAC CE can be used to select or activate more than one beam in the list.

[0138] In some implementations, the MAC CE can be used to select or activate a specific beam for a particular PUCCH resource. In one implementation, only one beam can be configured for a PUCCH resource. In other implementations, more than one beam can be configured for a PUCCH resource.

[0139] In some implementations, the UE can be configured for multiple TRP operation. TRP is an acronym for "Transmit-Receive Point." A TRP is a node capable of both transmitting and receiving. In this context, multiple TRP operation means that the UE is configured to communicate with multiple nodes, such as macro cells, small cells, pico cells, femtocells, remote radio heads, relay nodes, etc. For example, the UE can be configured to communicate in parallel with two base stations (e.g., with two gNBs or two eNBs), each of which hosts one or more cells.

[0140] In some implementations, for multi-TRP operation, the reliability of the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) can be enhanced by employing one or more enhancement mechanisms. For example, PDSCH aggregation (e.g., within multiple time slots) can be used for downlink transmission to the UE and can be dynamically controlled via downlink control information (DCI) transmitted by the TRP, such as the base station. As another example, multiple beams can be configured for the same PDSCH with multiple transmission opportunities.

[0141] In some implementations, the reliability of PUCCH transmission can be enhanced by employing one or more of the enhancement mechanisms described herein. For example, enhancement mechanisms can be employed in the context of multiple TRP operations. Alternatively, enhancement mechanisms can be employed in the context of a single TRP operation, if desired.

[0142] In some implementations, network elements (e.g., TRPs such as base stations) may provide the UE with an indication of PUCCH repetition. In response to receiving this indication, the UE may configure itself to perform PUCCH repetition transmission.

[0143] In some implementations, the system design may take into account issues related to existing PUCCH formats (e.g., PUCCH formats that exist as part of the 3GPP 5G NR standard).

[0144] In some implementations, the system design can enhance the use of PUCCH spatial relationships.

[0145] In some implementations, the system design can enhance PUCCH power control.

[0146] It can be observed that, assuming that both the long and short formats carry the same number of payload bits, N repetitions of the long format PUCCH provide better coverage (or a higher probability of successful PUCCH decoding at TRP) compared to N repetitions of the short format PUCCH.

[0147] When performing slot aggregation for PUCCH transmissions, especially in the context of multi-TRP operations, latency can be an issue. For example, the UE may be required to send a request to n... TRP Each TRP in a TRP transmits a separate PUCCH. Therefore, if the UE is constrained to transmit only one PUCCH repeat per slot and is configured to have nrofSlots slots per PUCCH, the UE can request

[0148] nrofSlots·n TRP

[0149] Each time slot is completed to n TRP n corresponding TRPs TRPA PUCCH transmission is assumed to be transmitted sequentially in time. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the latency of PUCCH transmissions to the TRP. One mechanism to achieve this reduction allows multiple repetitions of the PUCCH within each configured time slot.

[0150] PUCCH repeats instructions

[0151] In some implementations, when scheduling PUCCH repetition, the UE is allowed to operate in different PUCCH repetition modes. For example, network elements (e.g., TRPs such as base stations) can select one of the PUCCH repetition modes and signal the selected mode to the UE. PUCCH repetition modes may include one or more intra-slot modes and one or more inter-slot modes, for example, such as... Figure 9 As shown.

[0152] The UE can be scheduled (or configured) to repeatedly transmit PUCCH according to a pattern spanning one or more time slots. In inter-slot mode, only one repetition of the PUCCH is transmitted in each of the configured time slots. In intra-slot mode, more than one repetition of the PUCCH can occur within each of the configured time slots.

[0153] In some implementations of time-slot repetition, the PUCCH can be repeated back-to-back, i.e., there is no delay between the end of one repetition and the start of the next. In other implementations of time-slot repetition, a configured offset (or gap) can occur between consecutive repetitions of the PUCCH.

[0154] In the first time slot mode (Mode 1), the repeating pattern does not break at the time slot boundaries. Therefore, the repetition of the pattern can cross time slot boundaries. Or more generally, one or more repetitions in a repeating pattern can cross one or more corresponding time slot boundaries.

[0155] In the second time-slot mode (Mode 2), the repeating pattern is interrupted at the time-slot boundary. Repeating of the pattern across time-slot boundaries is not permitted. For example, a repeating pattern can be generated by repeating a sub-pattern in each of the configured time slots. Each repetition of the sub-pattern occurs within the corresponding time slot. The sub-pattern may include two or more repetitions of PUCCH.

[0156] In the inter-slot repetition mode, PUCCH repetitions can be transmitted, causing one repetition to occur in each of the nrofSlots consecutive time slots. Within each time slot, the same time domain allocation can be used for the transmission of the corresponding PUCCH repetition.

[0157] In some implementations, the PUCCH repetition mode can be configured via RRC signaling transmitted from the network (e.g., from a base station) to the UE. For example, the PUCCH repetition mode can be signaled as part of a PUCCH-Config. (To accommodate the signaling for the PUCCH repetition mode, this patent disclosure envisions modifications to the PUCCH-Config as defined by existing 3GPP 5G NR standards.) A PUCCH-Config is a hierarchical data structure comprising one or more instances of a PUCCH-FormatConfig. Each PUCCH-FormatConfig includes information for configuring a corresponding PUCCH format. For example, each instance of a PUCCH-FormatConfig may include one or more PUCCH-Resource elements to configure one or more corresponding PUCCH resources for the PUCCH format. (In this context, "resource" refers to resources in the time-frequency domain.)

[0158] In some implementations, the PUCCH repeat mode can be signaled as part of the PUCCH Config rather than any PUCCH-FormatConfig. Therefore, the PUCCH repeat mode can be applied to all PUCCH resources for all PUCCH formats.

[0159] In other implementations, the PUCCH repeat mode can be signaled as part of PUCCH-FormatConfig rather than any PUCCH-Resource element. Therefore, the PUCCH repeat mode can be applied to all PUCCH resources configured for the PUCCH format indicated by PUCCH-FormatConfig. Different PUCCH formats can be configured with different repeat modes.

[0160] In other implementations, the PUCCH repeat mode can be signaled as part of the PUCCH-Resource element and therefore can be applied to the corresponding PUCCH resource, but not to other PUCCH resources belonging to the same PUCCH format. Different PUCCH resources can be configured with different PUCCH repeat modes.

[0161] In some implementations, the following information elements (IEs) may be transmitted from network elements (e.g., by a base station) to the UE and are used to configure the PUCCH repetition mode. When a PUCCH repetition is transmitted, the UE may adopt the configured PUCCH repetition mode. The TRP (e.g., the base station) can then know which PUCCH resources contain the transmitted PUCCH repetitions and thus capture and accumulate those repetitions. The accumulation of repetitions allows the TRP to experience an increase in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in PUCCH reception, and thereby an improvement in the reliability of PUCCH decoding.

[0162] In some implementations, the information element may include an intraSlotRepetition field indicating one of the intraSlot repetition modes. In cases where two intraSlot repetition modes exist, for example as described above, the intraSlotRepetition field may be defined by the following formula:

[0163] intraSlotRepetition ENUMERATED{mode1,mode2}.

[0164] Symbol "X ENUMERATED{Y1,Y2,Y3,…,Y L The instruction X is selected from the set {Y1,Y2,Y3,…,Y}. L}

[0165] In some implementations, the information element may also include an intraslotRepetitionOffset field, which indicates a value representing the offset (or gap) between consecutive repetitions of PUCCH in the intraslot repetition mode. This value can be selected from the form {0, 1, 2, ..., Offset}. MAX The range of}, where

[0166] Offset MAX ≤n SPS or

[0167] Offset MAX ≤n SPS -1, or

[0168] Offset MAX ≤n SPS -2,

[0169] Where n SPS This refers to the number of symbols in each time slot. For example, when the number of symbols in each time slot is 14, the intraslotRepetitionOffset field can be defined by the following formula:

[0170] intraslotRepetitionOffset INTEGER(0..Offset MAX ),

[0171] Offset MAX ≤13.

[0172] Figure 10 An example of repeated offsets within a time slot is shown. Although Figure 10 The diagram illustrates a repeating pattern occurring within a single time slot. However, it should be noted that, if configured by the network, a repeating pattern in intra-slot mode can cover more than one time slot. In intra-slot mode 1, the offset between consecutive repeats of the repeating pattern is avoided, regardless of time slot boundaries. In intra-slot mode 2, the offset between consecutive repeats is avoided within each time slot, but is disrupted at time slot boundaries. (As mentioned above, in intra-slot mode 2, PUCCH repeats are not allowed to cross time slot boundaries.)

[0173] In some implementations, the information element may include an interSlotRepetition field indicating whether the inter-slot repetition mode is enabled:

[0174] interSlotRepetition ENUMERATED{enabled}.

[0175] The UE can initialize the inter-slot repetition mode to a disabled state. The TRP (such as the base station) can enable the inter-slot repetition mode by sending the interSlotRepetition field to the UE.

[0176] In some implementations, intra-slot frequency hopping can be configured when configuring intra-slot repetition of the PUCCH. Intra-slot frequency hopping involves changing the frequency between consecutive repetitions of the PUCCH according to a configured (or predefined) frequency hopping pattern. The UE transmits the repetitions of the PUCCH at the corresponding frequencies defined by the frequency hopping pattern. For example, Figure 11 The frequency hopping pattern, consisting of four repeating patterns of PUCCH within a single time slot, is shown. The horizontal axis represents time, while the vertical axis represents frequency.

[0177] Intra-slot frequency hopping in PUCCH can be configured, for example, via RRC signaling to the UE. Similar to the discussion above regarding RRC signaling for configuring PUCCH repetition modes, intra-slot frequency hopping in PUCCH can be signaled in one of three places: (a) in PUCCH-Config, but not in any specific PUCCH-FormatConfig; (b) in PUCCH-FormatConfig, but not in any specific PUCCH-Resource element; or (c) in the PUCCH-Resource element. Option (a) will configure frequency hopping for all PUCCH resources of all PUCCH formats. Option (b) will configure frequency hopping for all PUCCH resources of the PUCCH format corresponding to the PUCCH-FormatConfig. Option (c) will configure frequency hopping for PUCCH resources corresponding to the PUCCH-Resource element, but not for other PUCCH resources of the PUCCH format.

[0178] The following information elements (IEs) can be used to configure frequency hopping within PUCCH slots:

[0179] intraslotFrequencyHopping ENUMERATED{enabled}.

[0180] The UE can initialize intraslot frequency hopping to a disabled state. To enable intraslot frequency hopping, network elements (e.g., TRPs such as base stations) can set intraslotFrequencyHopping IE to an enabled state.

[0181] In some implementations, MAC-CE can be used to change (e.g., dynamically change) the number of PUCCH repetitions. Network elements (e.g., TRPs such as base stations) can transmit MAC-CE to the UE to change the number of PUCCH repetitions in the PUCCH repetition pattern. Figure 12 This diagram illustrates one possible structure for such a MAC-CE. However, several other structures are possible. A MAC-CE may include one or more of the following: serving cell ID, a bandwidth portion (BWP) indication, a PUCCH resource ID, and a repetition count. (The repetition count is the number of PUCCH repetitions in the repetition pattern.) A MAC-CE may also include one or more reserved bits. (R represents a reserved bit.)

[0182] In one particular implementation, the serving cell ID can be 5 bits long, the BWP indicator can be 2 bits long, the PUCCH resource ID can be 7 bits long, and the repeat count can be 8 bits long. However, it should be understood that each of the above fields of MAC-CE can take any of a number of different values, for example, depending on the application scenario, channel conditions, interference environment, or network configuration.

[0183] In some implementations, the MAC-CE format can be used to update multiple PUCCH resources with the same number of PUCCH repetitions or different numbers of PUCCH repetitions. For example, the network can configure a list of PUCCH resources to be used (or potentially used) for PUCCH repetitions. When the list is configured and one PUCCH resource in the list is indicated in the MAC-CE (e.g., in the PUCCH Resource ID field of the MAC-CE), the UE can update all PUCCH resources in the list to use the same number of PUCCH repetitions when the UE transmits PUCCH repetitions on any of these PUCCH resources.

[0184] In some implementations, the MAC-CE format can be used to update all PUCCHs in a list of component carriers (CCs) with the same number of PUCCH repetitions. For example, the network can configure a list of component carriers for use (or potential use) by the UE. When the list of component carriers is configured and one of the component carriers in the list is indicated in the MAC-CE (e.g., in the serving cell ID field of the MAC-CE), the UE can update all component carriers in the list to use the same number of PUCCH repetitions when the UE transmits PUCCH repetitions on any of these component carriers.

[0185] In some implementations, the MAC-CE format can be used to update all PUCCHs in all BWPs in a BWP list with the same number of PUCCH repetitions. For example, the network can configure a list of BWPs for UE use (or potential use). When the list is configured and one BWP in the list is indicated in the MAC-CE (e.g., in the BWP indication field of the MAC-CE), the UE can update all BWPs in the list to use the same number of PUCCH repetitions when the UE transmits PUCCH repetitions on any of these BWPs.

[0186] In some implementations, for short PUCCH formats (e.g., Figure 8 The PUCCH formats 0 and 2, as well as the long PUCCH format, allow for PUCCH slot aggregation.

[0187] In some implementations, one of the following limitations may be applied to intra-slot PUCCH repetition and / or inter-slot PUCCH repetition.

[0188] In some implementations, for long PUCCH formats (e.g., Figure 8 For formats 1, 3, and 4), three alternative schemes are possible. In the first alternative scheme, the network is allowed to use both intra-slot PUCCH repetition and inter-slot PUCCH repetition. (Different UEs can be configured to use different repetition modes. For example, one UE can be configured to use intra-slot repetition while another UE is configured to use inter-slot repetition. Furthermore, for example, for different long PUCCH formats, a UE can be configured to use both intra-slot and inter-slot repetition.) In the second alternative scheme, the network is only allowed to use inter-slot repetition. In the third alternative scheme, the network is allowed to use at least inter-slot repetition; and if the number of symbols in the long format PUCCH is less than X, the network can also use intra-slot repetition.

[0189] In some implementations, for short PUCCH formats (e.g., formats 0 and 2), two alternative schemes may exist. In the first alternative scheme, the network is allowed to use both intra-slot PUCCH repetition and inter-slot PUCCH repetition. In the second alternative scheme, the network is only allowed to use intra-slot repetition.

[0190] In some implementations, when PUCCH repetition is configured, the base station (e.g., gNB or eNB) can configure a PUCCH spatial consistency pattern to allow the UE to perform precoding cycles or beam cycles for better reliability.

[0191] In some implementations, the total number N of PUCCH repetitions can be divided into M segments, where each segment contains K PUCCH repetitions: N = M * K. The K PUCCH repetitions of a segment do not need to occur back-to-back in the time domain (i.e., there is a 0 offset between repetitions). PUCCH repetitions within a segment can use the same beam (or precoding). (This characteristic of using the same beam / precoding within a segment is a form of spatial consistency.) However, PUCCH repetitions within different segments can use different beams (or different precodings). In other words, different segments can use correspondingly different beams (or different precodings). Figure 13 An example with two segments is shown, where each segment has two PUCCH repetitions: M=2, K=2. The first and second PUCCH repetitions use beam B1. The third and fourth PUCCH repetitions use beam B2, which is different from B1.

[0192] In some implementations, the network (NW) can configure a repeating pattern by signaling (M,K) parameter pairs to the UE, for example, via RRC signaling, MAC-CE signaling, or DCI signaling. (DCI is an acronym for Downlink Control Information.)

[0193] In some implementations, when a base station (e.g., gNB) is allowed to configure a PUCCH spatial consistency pattern to allow the UE to perform precoding / beam cycling (for better reliability), the UE may indicate a preferred (M,K) configuration to the gNB. The base station (or network element) may select a PUCCH spatial consistency pattern considering the preferred (M,K) configuration and signal the selected pattern to the UE.

[0194] In some implementations, when the total transmission power changes between two PUCCH repetitions or within a PUCCH repetition, the UE may notify the base station (e.g., gNB or eNB) whether the UE can ensure phase continuity.

[0195] In some implementations, transmit power control information may be updated (by the base station) at the beginning of each time slot (or at the beginning of certain time slots), and therefore, the UE's transmit power level may change at time slot boundaries. The UE's transmitter may fail to maintain phase continuity across time slot boundaries where transmit power changes. For example, this phase discontinuity may occur when two repetitions of the PUCCH are separated by a time slot boundary, or when a PUCCH repetition crosses a time slot boundary in Mode 1 within a time slot.

[0196] In some implementations, when a UE experiences a change in duplex direction between two PUCCH repetitions, the UE can notify the base station (e.g., gNB or eNB) whether phase continuity can be ensured. For example, the duplex direction may change from uplink to downlink and then back to uplink. In other words, two consecutive PUCCH repetitions, defined as uplink transmissions, can be separated by a downlink transmission period. The UE's transmitter may or may not be able to maintain phase continuity across such intervention periods of downlink transmission.

[0197] In some implementations, when configuring PUCCH repetition, each of multiple TRPs (e.g., base stations) can be logically configured to map to a corresponding set of PUCCH repetition timings. For each TRP, the UE can transmit the corresponding PUCCH to the TRP using the corresponding set of PUCCH repetition timings. Each set can be configured with a corresponding timing lead and / or a corresponding power control level. The UE transmits the PUCCH to the TRP using the corresponding timing lead and / or the corresponding power control level. (The power control level determines or affects the transmission power.) TRPs may have different distances to the UE. Therefore, different timing leads and different transmission powers can be used to perform PUCCH repetition transmissions to different TRPs.

[0198] In some implementations, the following information elements (IEs) can be configured independently for each PUCCH repetition timing: timing advance (TA) for uplink transmission; and PUCCH-PowerControl.

[0199] In one set of embodiments, the method 1400 for operating a user equipment (UE) device may include Figure 14 The operation is shown in the figure. (Method 1400 may also include any subset of the features, elements and embodiments described above.) The method may be performed by the processing circuitry of the UE device (e.g., by the processing element 610 of the user equipment 600).

[0200] At 1410, the method may include transmitting multiple repetitions of the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) within one or more time slots. For example, the processing circuitry may direct ( Figure 6 The wireless electronic system 605 transmits multiple repetitions. One or more time slots used for said transmission can be configured by network elements, such as base stations like gNBs or eNBs.

[0201] In some implementations, two or more of these repetitions may occur in a first time slot of one or more time slots. Furthermore, a second time slot of one or more time slots may include two or more of the repetitions. For example, combining... Figure 9 For slot-in-slot modes 1 and 2, see the above discussion on "slot-in-slot repetition".

[0202] In some implementations, one or more time slots may include multiple time slots. In one or more of these implementations, the time between consecutive repetitions in multiple repetitions is constant and uninterrupted at time slot boundaries, for example, as discussed above in conjunction with "Intra-Slot Repetition Mode 1".

[0203] In some implementations, one or more time slots may include multiple time slots. In one or more of these implementations, the time between consecutive repetitions in the multiple repetitions is constant within each time slot, and no repetition in the multiple repetitions crosses a time slot boundary, for example, as discussed above in conjunction with "Intra-Slot Repetition Pattern 2".

[0204] In some implementations, the transmission of multiple repeating patterns is determined by radio resource control (RRC) configuration messages received from network elements, for example, as discussed in various above.

[0205] In some implementations, the RRC configuration message also indicates the time offset between consecutive repetitions in a plurality of repetitions.

[0206] In some implementations, method 1400 may further include: receiving configuration information to enable frequency hopping, wherein multiple repetitions of the transmitted PUCCH are performed in response to the receipt.

[0207] In some implementations, method 1400 may further include: prior to transmitting the plurality of repetitions, transmitting to the network (e.g., to a base station) an indication of whether the UE can ensure phase continuity when the transmission power changes between successive repetitions in the plurality of repetitions. If the UE cannot ensure such phase continuity, the base station may perform PUCCH estimation independently for different portions of the PUCCH repetition pattern when the UE transmission phase can change between different portions due to changes in transmission power and / or duplex direction. Conversely, if the UE can ensure such phase continuity, the base station may perform PUCCH estimation jointly using different portions of the PUCCH repetition pattern to obtain better estimation accuracy.

[0208] In some implementations, method 1400 may further include: before transmitting the multiple repetitions, transmitting to the network an indication of whether the UE can ensure phase continuity when the transmission power changes within one of the multiple repetitions.

[0209] In some implementations, method 1400 may further include: before transmitting the plurality of repetitions, transmitting to the network an indication of whether the UE can ensure phase continuity when the duplex direction changes between successive repetitions in the plurality of repetitions.

[0210] In some implementations, method 1400 may further include: receiving a Media Access Control (MAC) message from the network that dynamically configures the UE to perform multiple repetitions of the transmitted PUCCH, for example, as described in the various above. The MAC message may include the number of repetitions of the PUCCH to be transmitted by the UE.

[0211] In some implementations, the MAC message may also include the cell ID of the serving cell that the UE wants to transmit to it.

[0212] In some implementations, the MAC message may also include an identifier in which the UE intends to transmit recurring bandwidth portions. A bandwidth portion is a continuous section of the carrier's bandwidth. The carrier bandwidth may include one or more configured bandwidth portions (up to a maximum number of bandwidth portions).

[0213] In some implementations, the MAC message may also include the PUCCH resource ID of the PUCCH resource to be used by the UE for transmission duplicates.

[0214] In some implementations, MAC messages are used by the UE to update more than one PUCCH resource with the number of repetitions.

[0215] In some implementations, MAC messages are used by the UE to update all PUCCHs in multiple component carriers (CCs) with the number of repetitions.

[0216] In some implementations, MAC messages are used by the UE to update all PUCCHs in multiple bandwidth segments with the number of repetitions mentioned above.

[0217] In some implementations, the multiple repetitions of the transmitted PUCCH may include N repetitions of the transmitted PUCCH. The N repetitions of the PUCCH may be divided into M segments, where each of the M segments includes K corresponding repetitions from the N repetitions, for example, as described in the various above. Different segments among the M segments may be associated with different beams or precoding. For each segment, the K repetitions within that segment may be transmitted using the associated beam or precoding. For example, in combination with... Figure 13 See the discussion above.

[0218] In some implementations, M and K are configured using configuration information received from network elements (e.g., base stations such as gNB or eNB).

[0219] In some implementations, method 1400 may further include transmitting preferred values ​​of M and K to the network (e.g., to a base station of the network) before N repetitions of the PUCCH transmission. The network can use the preferred values ​​to select values ​​for M and K, and transmits an indication of the selected values ​​to the UE before the N repetitions of the PUCCH transmission. The UE configures itself to use the selected values ​​when transmitting the N repetitions.

[0220] In some implementations, the multiple repetitions of the transmitted PUCCH are performed according to an inter-slot repetition pattern and a short PUCCH format.

[0221] In some implementations, when the PUCCH format mentioned at 1410 is a long format, the UE can be configured to perform the transmission according to an intra-slot repetition mode or an inter-slot repetition mode.

[0222] In some implementations, when the PUCCH format mentioned at 1410 is long, the UE can be configured to perform the transmission only according to the inter-slot repetition pattern.

[0223] In some implementations, when the PUCCH format mentioned at 1410 is a long format, the UE can be configured to perform the transmission according to an inter-slot repetition mode or an intra-slot repetition mode if the number of symbols in the PUCCH is less than a threshold.

[0224] In some implementations, when the PUCCH format mentioned at 1410 is a short format, the UE can be configured to perform the transmission according to an intra-slot repetition mode or an inter-slot repetition mode.

[0225] In some implementations, when the PUCCH format mentioned at 1410 is a short format, the UE can be configured to perform the transmission only according to the intra-slot repetition pattern.

[0226] In some embodiments, method 1400 may further include: after transmitting multiple repetitions of the PUCCH, transmitting a second multiple repetition of the second PUCCH in one or more additional time slots. (The multiple repetitions mentioned in 1410 may be referred to herein as a first multiple, to distinguish it from the second multiple; and the PUCCH mentioned in 1410 may be referred herein as a first PUCCH, to distinguish it from the second PUCCH.) The first multiple repetitions of the first PUCCH may be transmitted using a first set of transmission parameters, and the second multiple repetitions of the second PUCCH may be transmitted using a second set of transmission parameters.

[0227] In some implementations, the method may further include receiving configuration information indicating a first set of transmission parameters and a second set of transmission parameters, for example, as described above.

[0228] In some implementations, the first set of transmission parameters may include a first timing lead and / or a first transmission power, and the second set of transmission parameters may include a second timing lead and / or a second transmission power.

[0229] In one set of embodiments, the method 1500 for operating a base station (BS) may include Figure 15The operation is shown in the diagram. (Method 1500 may also include any subset of the features, elements, or operations described above.) The method may be performed by the processing circuitry of a base station (e.g., by processing element 710 of base station 700). The base station may be implemented, for example, by an eNB of 3GPP LTE or a gNB of 3GPP 5GNR.

[0230] At 1510, method 1500 may include receiving multiple repetitions of the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) from a user equipment (UE) within one or more time slots. The base station may configure one or more time slots to be used for the transmission of the PUCCH repetitions, for example, by sending configuration information to the UE.

[0231] The base station can accumulate received repetitions (or a subset thereof) of the PUCCH to obtain a result signal, and decode the result signal to recover the payload bits of the PUCCH. Compared to decoding based on a single PUCCH transmission, the accumulation of repetitions allows the base station to experience a higher probability of successfully decoding the payload bits.

[0232] In some implementations, two or more of these repetitions may occur in a first time slot of one or more time slots. Furthermore, a second time slot of one or more time slots may include two or more of the repetitions. For example, combining... Figure 9 For slot-in-slot modes 1 and 2, see the above discussion on "slot-in-slot repetition".

[0233] In some implementations, one or more time slots may include multiple time slots. In one or more of these implementations, the time between consecutive repetitions in multiple repetitions is constant and uninterrupted at time slot boundaries, for example, as discussed above in conjunction with "Intra-Slot Repetition Mode 1".

[0234] In some implementations, one or more time slots may include multiple time slots. In one or more of these implementations, the time between consecutive repetitions in the multiple repetitions is constant within each time slot, and no repetition in the multiple repetitions crosses a time slot boundary, for example, as discussed above in conjunction with "Intra-Slot Repetition Pattern 2".

[0235] In some implementations, method 1500 may include transmitting a Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration message to the UE. The RRC configuration message may direct the UE to transmit multiple repetitions of PUCCH, for example, as described in the various above.

[0236] In some implementations, the RRC configuration message may also indicate the time offset between consecutive repetitions in a plurality of repetitions.

[0237] In some implementations, method 1500 may further include: transmitting configuration information to the UE, wherein the configuration information instructs the UE to perform multiple repetitions of the transmission using frequency hopping, for example, as described in the various above.

[0238] In some embodiments, method 1500 may further include: before receiving the plurality of repetitions, receiving from the UE an indication of whether the UE can ensure phase continuity when the UE's transmission power changes between successive repetitions in the plurality of repetitions.

[0239] In some implementations, method 1500 may further include: before receiving the plurality of repetitions, receiving from the UE an indication of whether the UE can ensure phase continuity when the UE's transmission power changes within one of the plurality of repetitions.

[0240] In some implementations, method 1500 may further include: before receiving the plurality of repetitions, receiving from the UE an indication of whether the UE can ensure phase continuity when the duplex direction changes between successive repetitions in the plurality of repetitions.

[0241] In some implementations, method 1500 may further include transmitting a Media Access Control (MAC) message to the UE, the MAC message dynamically configuring the UE to transmit multiple repetitions of PUCCH, for example, as described in the various above. The MAC message may include the number of repetitions of PUCCH to be transmitted by the UE.

[0242] In some implementations, the MAC message may also include the cell ID of the serving cell to which the UE is directed to transmit a duplicate.

[0243] In some implementations, the MAC message may also include an identifier in which the UE intends to transmit a duplicate portion of the bandwidth.

[0244] In some implementations, the MAC message may also include the PUCCH resource ID of the PUCCH resource to be used by the UE for transmission duplicates.

[0245] In some implementations, MAC messages can guide the UE to update more than one PUCCH resource with the number of repetitions mentioned above.

[0246] In some implementations, MAC messages can guide the UE to update all PUCCHs in multiple component carriers (CCs) with the number of repetitions.

[0247] In some implementations, MAC messages can guide the UE to update all PUCCHs in multiple bandwidth segments with the number of repetitions mentioned above.

[0248] In some implementations, the multiple repetitions of the received PUCCH may include N repetitions of the received PUCCH. The N repetitions of the PUCCH may be divided into M segments, where each of the M segments includes K corresponding repetitions from the N repetitions. Different segments among the M segments may be associated with different beams or precoding. See, for example... Figure 13 And related descriptions.

[0249] In some implementations, for each of the M segments, the base station may independently estimate the PUCCH based on K repetitions of that segment. In other implementations, the base station may estimate the PUCCH based on the K repetitions of the segment with the highest average signal power level (or signal-to-noise ratio). More generally, the base station may sort the segments according to their average signal power level (or signal-to-noise ratio) and independently estimate the PUCCH based on each of one or more segments with the highest average signal power level (or signal-to-noise ratio). In still other implementations, the base station may estimate the PUCCH based on the K repetitions of a selected segment (e.g., a segment that has been signaled to the UE before the transmission of the PUCCH repetition).

[0250] In some implementations, method 1500 may further include: transmitting configuration information to the UE before the N repetitions of receiving the PUCCH, wherein the configuration information indicates M and K to the UE.

[0251] In some implementations, method 1500 may further include receiving preferred values ​​of M and K from the UE before the N repetitions of receiving the PUCCH.

[0252] In some implementations, the multiple repetitions of receiving PUCCH are performed according to an inter-slot repetition pattern and a short PUCCH format.

[0253] In some implementations, when the PUCCH is in long format, the base station can operate to configure the UE to transmit multiple repetitions of the PUCCH according to an intra-slot repetition mode or an inter-slot repetition mode.

[0254] In some implementations, when the PUCCH format is long, the base station can operate to configure the UE to transmit multiple repetitions of the PUCCH only according to the inter-slot repetition pattern.

[0255] In some implementations, when the PUCCH is in long format, if the number of symbols in the PUCCH is less than a threshold, the base station may operate to configure the UE to transmit multiple repetitions of the PUCCH according to an inter-slot repetition mode or an intra-slot repetition mode.

[0256] In some implementations, when the PUCCH format is short, the base station can operate to configure the UE to transmit multiple repetitions of the PUCCH according to an intra-slot repetition mode or an inter-slot repetition mode.

[0257] In some implementations, when the PUCCH format is short, the base station can operate to configure the UE to transmit multiple repetitions of the PUCCH only according to the intra-slot repetition pattern.

[0258] As described at 1510, the base station may transmit multiple repetitions of the PUCCH in one or more time slots. In this discussion, we will refer to this multiple repetition as the "first multiple repetition" and this PUCCH as the "first PUCCH". In some embodiments, method 1500 may further include: transmitting configuration information indicating a first set of transmission parameters and a second set of transmission parameters to the UE before transmitting the first multiple repetitions of the first PUCCH. After receiving the first multiple repetitions of the first PUCCH, a second multiple repetition of the second PUCCH may be received in one or more additional time slots. The first set of transmission parameters may include a first timing advance and / or a first transmission power for UE transmission of the first multiple repetitions of the first PUCCH, and the second set of transmission parameters may include a second timing advance and / or a second transmission power for UE transmission of the second multiple repetitions of the second PUCCH.

[0259] In one set of embodiments, a method for operating a base station (BS) may include: dynamically configuring a user equipment (UE) to perform repetitions of the transmission of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) by transmitting a medium access control (MAC) message to the UE, wherein the MAC message includes the number of repetitions of the PUCCH to be transmitted by the UE.

[0260] In some implementations, the MAC message may also include the cell ID of the serving cell to which the UE wants to transmit a PUCCH duplicate.

[0261] In some implementations, the MAC message may also include an identifier of the bandwidth portion in which the UE intends to transmit a PUCCH repeat.

[0262] In some implementations, the MAC message may also include the PUCCH resource ID of the PUCCH resource to be used by the UE to transmit PUCCH repeats.

[0263] In some implementations, MAC messages may be used by the UE to repeatedly update more than one PUCCH resource for the number of PUCCHs.

[0264] In some implementations, MAC messages can be used by the UE to update all PUCCHs in the component carrier (CC) list by the number of times the PUCCH is repeated.

[0265] In some implementations, MAC messages can be used by the UE to update all PUCCHs in all bandwidth portions of the bandwidth portion list with the number of times the PUCCH is repeated.

[0266] In one set of embodiments, a method for operating user equipment (UE) may include: transmitting N repetitions of a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). The N repetitions of the PUCCH may be divided into M segments, where each of the M segments includes K corresponding repetitions from the N repetitions. Different segments among the M segments may be associated with different beams or precoding. For each segment, the K repetitions within that segment may be transmitted using the same associated beam or precoding.

[0267] In some implementations, M and K can be configured using configuration information received from the network.

[0268] In some implementations, the method may further include transmitting preferred values ​​of M and K to the network before the N repetitions of the transmitted PUCCH.

[0269] In one set of embodiments, a method for operating a user equipment (UE) may include: transmitting a first repetition of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) at a corresponding repetition time of a first set of repetition times, wherein the first repetition is transmitted using a first set of transmission parameters; and transmitting a second repetition of the PUCCH at a corresponding repetition time of a second set of repetition times, wherein the second repetition is transmitted using a second set of transmission parameters.

[0270] In some implementations, the method may further include receiving configuration information indicating a first set of transmission parameters and a second set of transmission parameters.

[0271] In some implementations, the first set of transmission parameters may include a first timing lead and / or a first transmission power, and the second set of transmission parameters may include a second timing lead and / or a second transmission power.

[0272] Embodiments of this disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be implemented as computer-implemented methods, computer-readable storage media, or computer systems. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0273] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured to store program instructions and / or data, wherein if the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system performs a method, such as any method embodiment of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0274] In some implementations, a computer system may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, and the processor is configured to read from the memory medium and execute the program instructions, wherein the executable program instructions are to implement any of the various method implementations described herein (or any combination of the method implementations described herein, or any subset of any method implementations described herein, or any combination of such subsets). A computer system may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, a computer system may be a personal computer (in any of its various implementations), a workstation, a computer on a card, a dedicated computer in a box, a server computer, a client computer, a handheld device, a user equipment (UE) device, a tablet computer, a wearable computer, etc.

[0275] By interpreting each message / signal X received by a user equipment (UE) communicating with a base station (or transmission-receive point) in the downlink as a message / signal X transmitted by the base station (or transmission-receive point), and interpreting each message / signal Y transmitted by the UE in the uplink as a message / signal Y received by the base station (or transmission-receive point), any method described herein for operating a UE can serve as the basis for a corresponding method for operating a base station (or transmission-receive point).

[0276] As is widely recognized, the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are generally accepted to meet or exceed industry or governmental requirements for protecting user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly explained to users.

[0277] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the disclosure is fully understood. This disclosure is intended to render the following claims as encompassing all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method for operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: Receive configuration information from the base station indicating the first transmission power control parameter and the second transmission power control parameter; Upon receiving the configuration information, the system transmits a first plurality of repetitions of the first Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) to the base station within one or more time slots, wherein the transmission power of one or more of the first plurality of repetitions of the PUCCH is based on the first transmission power control parameter. The transmission of the first PUCCH includes N repetitions of the first PUCCH, wherein the N repetitions of the first PUCCH are divided into M segments, and each of the M segments includes K corresponding repetitions from the N repetitions. The preferred values ​​of M and K are transmitted to the base station before the transmission of N repetitions of the first PUCCH; The method further includes receiving a PUCCH spatial consistency pattern based on preferred values ​​of M and K, wherein K repetitions of the same segment in the M segments are associated with the same beam or precode to obtain spatial consistency, and wherein different segments in the M segments are associated with different beams or precodes. as well as After transmitting the first plurality of repetitions of the PUCCH, a second plurality of repetitions of the PUCCH are transmitted in one or more additional time slots, wherein the transmission power of one or more of the second plurality of repetitions of the PUCCH is based on the second transmission power control parameter.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein two or more repetitions of the repetitions occur in a first time slot of the one or more time slots, wherein the one or more time slots comprise a plurality of time slots, wherein the time between consecutive repetitions of the first plurality of repetitions is constant and uninterrupted at time slot boundaries.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein two or more repetitions of the repetitions occur in a first time slot of the one or more time slots, wherein the one or more time slots comprise a plurality of time slots, wherein the time between consecutive repetitions of the first plurality of repetitions is constant within each time slot of the time slots, wherein no repetition of the first plurality of repetitions crosses a time slot boundary.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the configuration information includes a first timing advance for the first plurality of repetitions of the PUCCH and a second timing advance for the second plurality of repetitions of the PUCCH.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first transmission power control parameter includes one or more repetitions of the first plurality of repetitions of the PUCCH, representing the transmission power level.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of repetitions of the PUCCH are provided for transmission according to a first beam, and wherein the second plurality of repetitions of the PUCCH are provided for transmission according to a second beam different from the first beam, and wherein the configuration information indicates an identification of a spatial consistency pattern of the first beam and the second beam.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of repetitions of transmitting the first PUCCH are performed according to an inter-slot repetition pattern and a short PUCCH format.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein when the PUCCH format of the first PUCCH is long: The UE can be configured to perform the transmission according to an intra-slot repetition mode or an inter-slot repetition mode; or The UE can be configured to perform the transmission only according to the inter-slot repetition pattern; or If the number of symbols in the first PUCCH is less than a threshold, the UE can be configured to perform the transmission according to either an inter-slot repetition mode or an intra-slot repetition mode.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein when the PUCCH format of the first PUCCH is a short format: The UE can be configured to perform the transmission according to an intra-slot repetition mode or an inter-slot repetition mode; or The UE can be configured to perform the transmission only based on the intra-slot repetition pattern.

10. A method for operating a base station (BS), the method comprising: Transmit configuration information indicating the first transmission power control parameter and the second transmission power control parameter to the user equipment (UE); After transmitting the configuration information, the UE receives a first plurality of repetitions of the first Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) within one or more time slots, wherein the transmission power of one or more of the first plurality of repetitions of the PUCCH is based on the first transmission power control parameter. The first plurality of repetitions of receiving the first PUCCH includes receiving N repetitions of the first PUCCH, wherein the N repetitions of the first PUCCH are divided into M segments, and each of the M segments includes K corresponding repetitions from the N repetitions. The preferred values ​​of M and K are received from the UE before receiving N repetitions of the first PUCCH; The method further includes transmitting a PUCCH spatial consistency pattern based on preferred values ​​of M and K, wherein K repetitions of the same segment in the M segments are associated with the same beam or precode to achieve spatial consistency, and wherein different segments in the M segments are associated with different beams or precodes. as well as After receiving the first plurality of repetitions of the PUCCH, the UE receives a second plurality of repetitions of the PUCCH in one or more additional time slots, wherein the transmission power of one or more of the second plurality of repetitions of the PUCCH is based on the second transmission power control parameter.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first two repetitions of the first plurality of repetitions occur in a single time slot of the one or more time slots, and the first two repetitions of the second plurality of repetitions occur in a single time slot of the one or more additional time slots.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the time between consecutive repetitions in the first plurality of repetitions is constant and uninterrupted at time slot boundaries.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the time between consecutive repetitions in the first plurality of repetitions is constant within each time slot in the time slot, and wherein no repetition in the first plurality of repetitions crosses a time slot boundary.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein two or more of the repetitions occur in a first time slot of the one or more time slots, the method further comprising: A Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration message is transmitted to the UE, wherein the RRC configuration message instructs the UE to transmit the first plurality of repetitions of the first PUCCH, and wherein the RRC configuration message further indicates the time offset between consecutive repetitions in the first plurality of repetitions.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the first plurality of repetitions of receiving the first PUCCH are performed according to an inter-slot repetition pattern and a short PUCCH format.

16. A non-transitory memory medium storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions, when executed by a processing circuit, cause the processing circuit to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

17. A user equipment (UE), comprising: Wireless electronic systems; Processing circuitry coupled to the wireless electronic system; as well as A memory storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the UE to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

18. A base station, the base station comprising: Wireless electronic systems; Processing circuitry coupled to the wireless electronic system; as well as A memory storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the base station to perform the method according to any one of claims 10 to 15.

19. A processor configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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